Fifty Shades Darker
Fifty Shades, Book #2
By E.L. James
ISBN# 9781612130583
Author’s Website: http://www.eljamesauthor.com/
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Heidi
Fifty Shades Darker picks up five days after the previous book leaves off. Ana has left Christian after she got a true glimpse of how painful his punishments can be (although she *did* ask for it). Christian and Ana are both miserable without the other. While Ana mopes around, Christian is already working out ways to win her back!
Jose’s gallery show is coming up and Ana has completely forgotten about it until Christian asks her if she needs a ride there. She knows it’s a bad idea, but doesn’t know how else she’ll get to Portland, so she agrees to let him take her. And, while together Christian offers Ana a new kind of arrangement. He wants to try a vanilla relationship with her. One without the playroom. Not only that, but he doesn’t want to go back to his kinky ways until they can both trust one another.
“I raise my eyebrows. “You’re going to settle for plain old vanilla?” He cocks his head to one side. “Nothing plain or old about vanilla-it’s a very intriguing flavor,” he breathes.”
He tells her frequently that she holds all the cards, he knows what it’s like to lose her, and he will do everything in his power to keep from losing her again.
“I’ve never felt the way I felt when you left, Anastasia. I would move heaven and earth to avoid feeling like that again.”
Ana loves Christian, and she wants to believe him, but her head is full of doubts. She doesn’t know if he can live a life without his hardcore kink. Not to mention there are others in their lives that would like nothing better than to tear them apart. Can the two of them overcome their differences and find true happiness or are they just delaying the inevitable; two broken hearts.
I found myself rolling my eyes a lot in the beginning of this book. They both act like it’s been an eternity since they broke up and it hadn’t even been a full week!
“I’m anything but fine. I feel like the sun has set and not risen for five days, Ana. I’m in perpetual night here.”
I also felt that Ana forgave Christian way too easy. No sooner was his proposition out of his mouth and she was climbing into his lap and apologizing and wanting to get him naked! Have a little respect for yourself, girl! And, I’m so tired of hearing what her inner goddess is doing! News Flash! I DON’T CARE!
When I read the previous book, Fifty Shades of Grey, I was surprised that it took them over half the book before they ever had sex considering that the book was touted as being the epitome of kinky. There is no such issues in this book. They make up for lost time in this installment and it seems like all they ever do is have sex. Although since Christian is trying to keep to a Vanilla lifestyle he really curbs the kink as much as he can, but there is still some there. And, he can’t completely drop his bossy ways! Once a dominant, always a dominant, I suppose. But I have to say that I really do think that Christian is trying and he’s discovered just how much Ana means to him.
“I will lay my world at your feet, Anastasia. I want you, body and soul, forever.”
If only she could ever take what he says at face value.
I also really liked Christian’s over-protective tendencies, even if he went overboard at times.
“This is me, Ana. All of me…and I’m all yours. What do I have to do to make you realize that? To make you see that I want you any way I can get you. That I love you.”
However, I have to admit that if I was her I’d have a hard time looking past the things she sweeps under the rug. His crazy ex-submissive, Mrs. Robinson, and the box of pictures! Although I don’t think anyone can accuse Ana of being all that smart anyway. Her boss comes on to her and tries to blackmail her for sex and what does she do? Gets out a dress that she notices is really low cut and decides it’s the perfect outfit for work. Really? I also found her to be confusing in the way that she was scared of Christian hurting her, but couldn’t wait to get him back in the red room of pain, even when he voiced his opinion that he didn’t want to go back in there after what had happened there.
I found the things with Jack to be rather predictable and I knew we hadn’t heard the last of him!
I kept expecting something to happen at the end of this book that would take Ana away from Christian (although I didn’t expect the two to be separated willingly). That did not happen, but especially considering how the book ended, I expect that something to happen in the next book!
This was an okay read. I didn’t find myself bored out of my mind like I did during parts of the first book, although the overabundance of sex scenes got a little old at times. I enjoyed seeing a softer side of Christian and look forward to seeing more of that from him. But first they must fight the enemies their relationship has created!
I heard this song and felt it was appropriate for this book. Starving by Hailee Steinfeld Grey.
“I didn’t know that I was starving till I tasted you
Don’t need no butterflies when you give me the whole damn zoo”
